CLASS STRIKE - TEASE 1 EXT. AERIAL STRIKE U -- FALLON, NEVADA - DAY (STOCK) A flight of FA-18 Hornets rockets low over the desert sands. BURNER and ICE, then SPOON with HAMMER on his wing. 2 INT. HAMMER'S COCKPIT - DAY HAMMER Okay, Shooters, heads up! It’s a competition, remember. Best CEP leads the Class Strike. You're cleared on range. Get those bombs on target. 3 INT. BURNER'S COCKPIT - DAY - BURNER Class lead. That's me! Burner's in. Pickle. Burner's off! He cranks the stick over, rolls out. 4 EXT. GROUND TARGET - DAY - (STOCK) A bulldozed, dirt mound, surrounded by concentric rings, EXPLODES IN SMOKE. Burner hits well in the inner target rings. BURNER Yee Hah! Beat that, suckers! 5 INT. SPOON COCKPIT - DAY Spoon's shaky, Hammer coaches from his wing. HAMMER (V.O.) Okay, wings level, ease down, hold that angle...you're on...you're on. 6 INSERT - FROM HAND ON STICK TO CRT -- CONTINUOUS Tiny incremental inputs in the stick bring the bombing pip level, into angle and to centerline on the target. SPOON Ahhhh....pickle. Spoon's off. 7 EXT. HORNET HARD POINTS - DAY - (STOCK) Small (25LB.) practice bombs RELEASE, COME OFF, DROP AWAY. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.11-11-02 8 EXT. GROUND TARGET - (STOCK) -- CONTINUOUS SMOKE PUFFS as bombs hit in the outer rings. Good, not great! 9 INT. HAMMER'S COCKPIT - DAY HAMMER Ease up, Spoon, you're gonna be fine. You were a touch high, and wing low. That's why you dropped long, right. 10 INT. ICE'S COCKPIT - DAY Ice, all planning and precision. ICE Ice is in. She MURMERS to herself, OFF RADIO...almost a mantra... ICE (CONT'D) Dive Angle,fifty degrees, FIFTY. ...airspeed, 340, 340. Wings level...wings level. Wind: Right cross wind, drift left. Release height, five thousand... 11 INT. INSERT - FROM HAND ON STICK TO CRT -- CONTINUOUS Tiny inputs bring the pip level, into angle and on target. ICE Five thousand...five thousand. The RADAR HEIGHT SCALE TOUCHES 5000. Her finger squeezes the release. A LURCH. She KEYS THE RADIO. ICE (CONT'D) Pickle, Ice is off. 12 EXT. HORNET HARD POINTS - DAY - (STOCK) Small (25LB.) practice bombs RELEASE, COME OFF, DROP AWAY. 13 EXT. GROUND TARGET - (STOCK) - CONTINUOUS SMOKE PUFFS as bombs hit THE TARGET BERM - BULLSEYE! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.11-11-02 14 INT. HAMMER'S COCKPIT -- DAY He's cranked around, looking over his shoulder at the target. HAMMER Bullseye! Good Bombs, Ice. Good Work! 15 INT. ICE'S COCKPIT - DAY She unsnaps her mask, flips her visor, wipes sweat from eyes, grins and CLICKS HER MIKE TWICE in acknowlegement. 16 INT. DIVE BOMB BAR - FALLON, NEVADA - DAY Raucous wild-west mixed with Navy/Marine. Squadron colors drape the walls. A SHIP'S BELL hangs for "FIRE OR FREE DRINKS". The squad bursts in, BURNER bellies to the bar, rapidly RINGS THE BELL. GUNNER QUINN a salty ex-Chief, growls. GUNNER There a fire, Nuggets? SPOON Better than that...Good bombs! BURNER Yeah, gives us bragging rights and wager winnings. Let's have 'em! Burner grabs a PILOT'S HELMET takes out cash: The bet. BURNER (CONT'D) Drinks on us for everyone! When we win the next pot we'll buy doubles! GUNNER Pretty cocky. Who says you'll ever win again? SPOON We have to. If we fail, we repeat the course. You know what that means. ICE/SPOON/BURNER More time in SCENIC Fallon Nevada. Burner lifts a toast. BURNER To our great good luck. SPOON What? It was skill! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.11-11-02 BURNER No, I mean in having Hammer instead of that guy Jackal on our last run. He indicates LT.COL CHARLES "JACKAL" FRAZIER at the crap table jawing with a sexy woman in western drag; GUNSLINGER. SPOON Jackal? You think its us? You think it's something personal? GUNNER Not you. Nuggets, your CO. KELLY Colonel Kelly? GUNNER Jackal figured he'd get command of the 107. ICE Passed over. That explains it. BURNER Aw come on. Why would a dork like that even have a chance at command? GUNNER Don't underrate him. He's political. BURNER Like in brown- nosing? GUNNER Yeah. That's why I got outta the Navy and into heavy drinking. You gotta new kind of fight, boys. He wants to make you look bad, maybe force the General to reconsider. ON JACKAL, deep in conversation with Gunslinger. END TEASE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.11-11-02 ACT ONE 17 EXT. FALLON AIRBASE - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAWN (STOCK) A high-tech base; aircraft parked in a stark desert landscape. 18 INT. FLIGHT HANGAR - BRIEFING AREA - DAY A corner of the hangar is set up with chairs and map easels. Crew dogs work on Hornets in b.g. Hammer stands at a lecturn. HAMMER Okay, the Class Strike is the final exam in Air-to-Ground combat...a coordinated attack on a ground target. BURNER And we get to blow things up! Beat's hell out of that graduation at Dartmouth! Hammer indulges him, waits for THE LAUGH to die. HAMMER The problem is to get in through the threats, to take out the target, to get out alive. You'll plan and execute the complete attack, as close to real-world as possible. He steps aside for Jackal who moves to the MAPS, giving Hammer the cold shoulder. Hammer's smile fades. JACKAL The threats: radar directed SAM’s, Triple A, Bogeys and, of course, running into the ground. BURNER Don't do that. Hurts. A moderate LAUGH. Jackal is not indulgent. He's a hard-ass. JACKAL Burner, you have an insight, you want to share with us? BURNER No, Sir. JACKAL Then let's keep this on a professional level. Or in your case, semi-pro. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.11-11-02 Couple of OOOoooh's and "Gotcha" NOISES from the back of the room. Burner is shut down, embarrassed. It's nothing new. JACKAL (CONT'D) Now, the 7/96 still holds the record, the top score of previous detachments. That's the mark for you guys to aim at. It's not one you'll beat. He turns to HAMMER, who hands over bomb scrores. HAMMER Ice is closing on Burner for first place. MUTTERINGS of surprise among the pilots. HAMMER (CONT'D) Dogfighting is about reactive, intuitive fighting ability, something where a natural, like Burner, excels. Burner grins around at them. HAMMER (CONT'D) Stike is about planning, precision. I expect a tight race. And I expect a strike leader that nobody expected. 19 ANGLE - ICE AND BURNER ICE Closing on, you Burner...watch out! BURNER Yeah, never happen. ANGLE - HAMMER Something's on his mind. He moves to Jackal. HAMMER You being a little negative? Thought the school was pass/fail. JACKAL It is. HAMMER And it's your mission to train and to pass as many students as possible. JACKAL It's my mission to pass those who can hack it. And to fail those who can't, before they kill themselves and somebody else. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.11-11-02 He gets up. Hammer stares at his back as he moves off. 20 EXT. AERIAL SEQUENCE - HORNETS - DAY - (STOCK) A level lay-down bombing mission; dangerous low-level flying. 21 INT. HAMMER'S COCKPIT -- DAY HAMMER Okay, keep your interval. Remember, the bombs are retarded, you don't want to get in too soon and get fragged. Okay, Burner! 22 INT. ICE'S COCKPIT - DAY ICE Yeah, Burner, If ever there was a pilot to drop a retarded bomb, you're the one. 23 INT. AERIAL - BURNER'S COCKPIT (STOCK) -- DAY BURNER Thanks, Ice. But I don't rattle. I shake, rock and roll. 24 EXT. AERIAL - HORNETS - DAY (STOCK) The Hornets ROAR IN level, dropping a string. EXPLOSIONS! 25 INT. HANGAR - BRIEFING AREA - DAY They trudge in, tired, drag their gear and butts to chairs. BURNER I pickled it on target. The computer didn't release. ICE Come on, who do you think is smarter, you or the computer? BURNER Duhhh. I'll get back to you on that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.11-11-02 ICE You don't trust the computer, you set your switch to command release. Then all you have to blame is yourself. Which is as it should be. BURNER How'd you know that? ICE I read the syllabus, something you ought to consider. BURNER Come on, unlock those eyes for a minute, you're coming with us. ICE Where? BOTH Dive Bomb. ICE No, I have to study. BURNER No fair, If you studied, I'd have to do it, too. SPOON And you look like you could stand a drink. ICE A drink, I can stand. Most of the low-lifes at that bar, I can't. SPOON Hey, we're part of that fauna, don't forget. ICE You never let me. 26 INT. DIVE BOMB BAR - DAY BlackJack tables, One Arm Bandits, Poker and Crap. They bet on everything, but the biggest pot is on the Class Strike. BURNER Okay, here's the bet. We pass. We all pass. And we get the highest score in...in modern freakin' history. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.11-11-02 SPOON Don't overreach. Passing's enough. BURNER Not for us. Cause we want odds. We want good odds. Right, Gunner? GUNNER That you numbnuts could beat anyone? The odds are long boys, long. SPOON Million to one? A Thousand...? GUNNER Yeah, Thousand. SPOON Well, we'll give it up at a hundred. Hundred to one. How 'bout it boys? COWBOY Hundred to one? I'll take a piece of that. Hundred bucks against one. Just to watch you boys eat crow. COWBOY2 Me too. I got a hundred. Easiest buck I'll ever make.. They look around. Burner stuffs money in, then Spoon, Swamp and Ice. They look down the bar. Jackal. Burner takes the helmet to him. He looks at it, reaches for his wallet. JACKAL I'll take the short odds. Against. 27 ANGLE - ICE AND SPOON ...drooling at the helmet full of money. ICE That's the dumbest thing I ever saw. SPOON Yeah, they ain't too swift, are they? SWAMP Not them. You. We can't win? How we gonna beat a record, old as flight? SPOON We can't. SWAMP Then why did you make that bet? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.11-11-02 SPOON I didn't do that. Burner did that! What you don't see, is, we got their money for a week, whatever happens. I lent it to Gunner. We'll make fifty bucks on the vig. ICE You been to Nevada before? SPOON Nope, but its growing on me. ICE You figure we'll lose? SPOON Those are the odds. ICE I make my own odds. Don't bet on it. 28 ANGLE - THE DOORWAY The bar grows quiet. MARYLYN ROSE appears, SPORTING BRUISES. ICE Oh, no. You're not getting into this again. BURNER No. Not me. I know better. He gets up, moves to her. MARYLYN Hi, Burner. BURNER Hi Marylyn. Where's Monty? MARYLYN Don't know. Left him. I'm on my own. 29 ANGLE - ICE AND SPOON ICE Read; available. SPOON Yeah. He's dead meat. ANGLE - BURNER AND MARYLYN BURNER That's good. What are you gonna do? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.11-11-02 MARYLYN I don’t know what to do, or who to do it with. 30 ANGLE - ICE AND SPOON ICE Why don't you talk to him? SPOON And say what? ICE He's messes up, the squad eats it. He should be thinking flying. SPOON What can I do? ICE Talk sense into him. SPOON Burner? You're kidding... (a beat) Awwww.... He gets up, moves to Burner. SPOON (CONT'D) C'mere. What are you doing? BURNER Talking to a pretty girl, why, what's it look like? Spoon puts an arm around him, drags him away. SPOON Trouble. Look I know you want to be a hero, take in strays, play "Catcher in the Rye" But you can’t fix your bad childhood through her. BURNER Advice?! From a guy who slept with his old man’s girlfriend? SPOON Hey, forget I said it. Forget I tried to help. Burner catches a glimpse of Marylyn leaving. He turns. BURNER Wait. Where are you gonna go? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12.11-11-02 She hesitates. Gunner comes from around the bar. GUNNER You're going nowhere, Honey. At least not back to him. MARYLYN No, I wasn't... GUNNER I got a room upstairs. MARYLYN No. I couldn't. I don't want to trouble you. GUNNER No trouble. No trouble at all. I'll just move the beer and the cat. 31 ANGLE - JACKAL Jackal watches, drinking with townies. Kelly enters. GUNSLINGER Marines. Overpaid, oversexed and over here. Except you, of course. JACKAL Don't lump me in with them.